Alpine Elf Team was one of the most aniticipated teams at the 90th 24 Hours of Le Mans, taking the start for the first time in the Hypercar class.

The #36 Alpine A480-Gibson entrusted to Nicolas Lapierre, André Negrão and Matthieu Vaxivière started from third position on the starting grid. Early in the race, the team incurred a penalty for excessive speed in a slow zone and the troubles did not stop there, escalating shortly before 20:00 on Saturday. The car experienced an electric clutch control unit problem, returning to pit lane for a lightning-fast intervention by the mechanics completed in 13 minutes. Back on track with André Negrāo at the wheel, the prototype then had to stop again with an ignition coil problem.

Having dropped to 32nd position, the drivers set out to improve in the classification as quickly as possible. By mid-race, the #36 Alpine had reached the 22nd spot. Then, on Sunday morning, Matthieu Vaxivière got caught in traffic and hit the tyre wall at the Porsche curves. After losing 27 minutes in the garage, the team returned to the track with one single goal: reach the finish line and secure at least the points for fifth place in the Hypercar class. Vaxivière made it to the chequered flag in 23rd position overall and fifth in Hypercar. Thanks to their efforts, Lapierre, Negrão and Vaxivière are heading into the second half of the 2022 FIA WEC season with an 11-point lead on the #8 Toyota drivers in the class.

Nicolas Lapierre: "It was a very disappointing and difficult race. We suffered several mechanical problems, and we had to deal with the pace and autonomy of the Toyotas and Glickenhaus throughout the race. It was tough, but it was important to get points and limit the damage in the championship."

André Negrão: "We know this race is difficult, but this year was especially challenging. The car was good, but we just lacked power. On top of that, we had two mechanical issues we never experienced before outside the technical responsibility of the team, and we went off track even though we were already out of contention. But the team did a great job. We are still in the title race, but it will be an incredibly tough battle!"

Matthieu Vaxivière: "Despite the satisfaction of finishing to thank the team for their hard work, it is very disappointing and frustrating. It was the race we were most looking forward to racing in, and the result was not in line with our ambitions and objectives. I was also surprised when I tried to overtake a GT car, and I chose to avoid it before being caught out by the marbles."

Alpine Elf Team team prinicipal Philippe Sinault: "When you compete in the premier category of the 24 Hours of Le Mans you have to be ambitious, and we were. Unfortunately, the race did not all go as we expected, and it was one of our most difficult Le Mans. We had two mechanical issues that we had never experienced before, even though we now know the car quite well. These were two issues that had not been identified, but which caused us to lose more than 20 minutes. From that point on, the damage was done, and we had to keep the entire team motivated. Matthieu's incident could have been the straw that broke the camel's back, but they handled it well and never gave up. Despite the disappointment, it only strengthens our desire to, one day, win the Holy Grail that is Le Mans."